No question about it, this book is a true gem! Do not allow yourself to be put off by the scholarly tone of the work. The author has indeed composed a most thoughtful treatise that prepares the reader thoroughly for managing the selection and creation of names for characters, things, and places. You should certainly read all that prefatory information. It is of invaluable sort. The meat of the work, though, is exactly what the title implies, names! 

Armed with this work the writer is freed from endless hours of agonizing over names to be used in his game campaign or story. From giving special characters apt names to the creation of a village full of individuals, the author has provided all the tools you need, including lists of all manner of personal and family names. Of course, as fantasy demands a good deal of creative naming, there are also lists of fantasy names and tables to assist you in the creation of an endless number of imaginative appellations. 

Before you dive into the names sections be sure and read all of the informative essays that the author has provided for the reader’s edification in regard to names and naming. The effort is well worth it, as you will be rewarded with much knowledge and given a sure hand in the name selection and creation that follows. I urge this from personal experience at this task that goes back over three decades now. 

The names sections proper are quite easy to use. The initial section explains naming customs. Where applicable a very handy pronunciation guide is supplied for those readers who desire as much accuracy as possible in that area. Thereafter lists of given names of common and uncommon appear followed by surnames. As a word of caution about the former, many of the common names for English, Gaelic, Irish, Scottish, and other European national groups are based on Biblical names. If your world does not have a religion like the Judeo-Christian one, then such names are actually inappropriate. These can be set aside or altered slightly to seem familiar yet not those from the Bible. For example Adom, Duved, Jemmas, Joln, Leke, Mard, Marthew might serve as substituted for Adam, David, James, John, Luke, Mark, and Matthew. 

In the same vein, if your world setting does not have the Christian faith, then there are a number of words you will need to avoid in naming places. These include archbishop, bishop, cardinal (as a religious figure), cathedral, church, pope, and saint. Substitutes are easily created, for example: chief priest, high priest, chief high priest, grand temple, temple, grand priest, demigod. 

Speaking of the English names section, that’s the one I recommend all readers to refer to initially, as it has extensive information on family names, aristocratic ones, and rustic ones. These particulars can be used extensively in the typical game campaign. 

Of course this book is not limited to names for people and their ilk—dwarves, elves, and so on. A quick check of the Table of Contents will prove that. You will find that naming places from inns and taverns to terrain features is made easy by reading the appropriate section and following the simple methods for name generation given there. As you read along in the latter regard, you will be treated to a considerable amount of lore regarding old and virtually lost names for places from homesteads to wells. Better still, that is followed by non-English names for like things. 

Be prepared for astonishment when you peruse the list of fantasy and strange names provided by the author, More I need not say, If point of fact, I have likely spent far too much of your time telling you about what you are about to find. So as to prevent any further spoiling of your enjoyment, I will close this prefatory essay with the observation that if you can’t expertly manage names when equipped with this book, there must be a jinx at work. 

Gary Gygax Lake Geneva, Wisconsin August 2003

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